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The Role of Age and Gender Differences in Language Learning: A Case Study on Kurdish EFL Learners

Received: 11 April 2017     Accepted: 27 April 2017     Published: 23 October 2017
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Abstract

Learning another language, apart from your mother tongue, becomes an influential part of life; however, it will be affected by many non-linguistic factors. Moreover, there is no doubt that language acquisition is a complex process which involves several factors, and that this process is highly influenced due to the plasticity of the brain. Furthermore, the types of memory systems involved in females and males also have a pivotal role that makes the genders distinct. Additionally, age and gender are among the factors that run in parallel with other factors and deeply influence language acquisition process. The study aims to investigate the role of age and gender problems and their influences, as it tries to differentiate between all ages and genders, in learning English as a foreign language. The participants in this research are students at different basic and secondary schools, and English department students at the University of Sulaimani; besides, several teachers were asked too. Mixed methods of data collection were used in this study (questionnaire and interview). The questionnaire section consists of ten questions and five for background information, which all were about age and gender. Moreover, twenty-eight students participated in the questionnaire section; and two teachers and one student participated in the interview section, which was consisted of five questions. The results of this research show the problems according to different ages and genders, and difficulties that faced Kurdish students through learning English; in which, it helps instructors to select their instructional strategies more effectively related to gender and age of students.

Published in English Language, Literature & Culture (Volume 2, Issue 5)
DOI 10.11648/j.ellc.20170205.14
Page(s) 74-84
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Gender, Age, Language Learning, Critical Period, Foreign Language

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Areen Ahmed Muhammed. (2017). The Role of Age and Gender Differences in Language Learning: A Case Study on Kurdish EFL Learners. English Language, Literature & Culture, 2(5), 74-84. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20170205.14

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    ACS Style

    Areen Ahmed Muhammed. The Role of Age and Gender Differences in Language Learning: A Case Study on Kurdish EFL Learners. Engl. Lang. Lit. Cult. 2017, 2(5), 74-84. doi: 10.11648/j.ellc.20170205.14

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    AMA Style

    Areen Ahmed Muhammed. The Role of Age and Gender Differences in Language Learning: A Case Study on Kurdish EFL Learners. Engl Lang Lit Cult. 2017;2(5):74-84. doi: 10.11648/j.ellc.20170205.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ellc.20170205.14,
      author = {Areen Ahmed Muhammed},
      title = {The Role of Age and Gender Differences in Language Learning: A Case Study on Kurdish EFL Learners},
      journal = {English Language, Literature & Culture},
      volume = {2},
      number = {5},
      pages = {74-84},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ellc.20170205.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ellc.20170205.14},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ellc.20170205.14},
      abstract = {Learning another language, apart from your mother tongue, becomes an influential part of life; however, it will be affected by many non-linguistic factors. Moreover, there is no doubt that language acquisition is a complex process which involves several factors, and that this process is highly influenced due to the plasticity of the brain. Furthermore, the types of memory systems involved in females and males also have a pivotal role that makes the genders distinct. Additionally, age and gender are among the factors that run in parallel with other factors and deeply influence language acquisition process. The study aims to investigate the role of age and gender problems and their influences, as it tries to differentiate between all ages and genders, in learning English as a foreign language. The participants in this research are students at different basic and secondary schools, and English department students at the University of Sulaimani; besides, several teachers were asked too. Mixed methods of data collection were used in this study (questionnaire and interview). The questionnaire section consists of ten questions and five for background information, which all were about age and gender. Moreover, twenty-eight students participated in the questionnaire section; and two teachers and one student participated in the interview section, which was consisted of five questions. The results of this research show the problems according to different ages and genders, and difficulties that faced Kurdish students through learning English; in which, it helps instructors to select their instructional strategies more effectively related to gender and age of students.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

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    T1  - The Role of Age and Gender Differences in Language Learning: A Case Study on Kurdish EFL Learners
    AU  - Areen Ahmed Muhammed
    Y1  - 2017/10/23
    PY  - 2017
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ellc.20170205.14
    T2  - English Language, Literature & Culture
    JF  - English Language, Literature & Culture
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    AB  - Learning another language, apart from your mother tongue, becomes an influential part of life; however, it will be affected by many non-linguistic factors. Moreover, there is no doubt that language acquisition is a complex process which involves several factors, and that this process is highly influenced due to the plasticity of the brain. Furthermore, the types of memory systems involved in females and males also have a pivotal role that makes the genders distinct. Additionally, age and gender are among the factors that run in parallel with other factors and deeply influence language acquisition process. The study aims to investigate the role of age and gender problems and their influences, as it tries to differentiate between all ages and genders, in learning English as a foreign language. The participants in this research are students at different basic and secondary schools, and English department students at the University of Sulaimani; besides, several teachers were asked too. Mixed methods of data collection were used in this study (questionnaire and interview). The questionnaire section consists of ten questions and five for background information, which all were about age and gender. Moreover, twenty-eight students participated in the questionnaire section; and two teachers and one student participated in the interview section, which was consisted of five questions. The results of this research show the problems according to different ages and genders, and difficulties that faced Kurdish students through learning English; in which, it helps instructors to select their instructional strategies more effectively related to gender and age of students.
    VL  - 2
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Author Information
  • Department of English Language, School of Foreign Languages, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China

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